It was early February and it was 80-something degrees and we were driving through the spectacle that is Coral Gables.

This is old money Miami; beautiful mansions shrouded in canopies of stately oaks and banyans and every palm tree imaginable. Al Golden was talking about recruiting, and how the unique aspect of the Miami campus set within the heart of one of the nation’s truly unique places can’t be overlooked.

“Look at this place,” Golden turned to me and said. “It’s paradise.”

Now look at the Canes' model: an empty stadium on game day and NCAA probation on the horizon. And finally, the loss of yet another athletic director—a move that will give Golden his third boss in 20-plus months at the school.

The same president who never informed Golden—nor former Miami AD Kirby Hocutt—of the depths of NCAA problems at Miami. Hocutt left for Texas Tech in February of 2011; Eichorst left 18 months later.

Golden, meanwhile, has played the good soldier. He says he can win at Miami, and says the program can persevere no matter what happens with the NCAA.

He’s recruiting hard (top 10 class last year), he’s coaching hard (Canes are 4-1 going into this weekend’s game against Notre Dame) and has Miami on the verge of a breakthrough season—all with the NCAA hammer poised to fall and make things significantly more difficult.

There will be bigger and better job openings this winter, including the plum job at Arkansas—where there is big money, immaculate facilities and a strong recruiting base. And where paradise is the Ozark Mountains.

Or maybe it’s the San Francisco Bay. Or the rolling hills and horse farms of Lexington.

Or just a job where you wake up the next morning and your boss hasn’t beaten you to the exit. Again.